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Johannesburg - South Africa's electricity utility Eskom will issue R12bn worth of bonds in the financial year to March 2010, the national treasury said on Thursday.
It also said logistics group Transnet will issue R6.9bn of bonds this year, while the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) will offer bonds of R13.25bn.
The treasury will auction R70.5bn worth of bonds and treasury bills, in line with an announcement in the national budget in February.
The auctions would be coordinated over the period.
"To improve coordination of public sector borrowing, the National Treasury and six major bond issuing state owned entities have agreed on a consolidated and synchronised bond issuance calendar in the domestic market for the 2009/10 financial year," it said in a statement.
South Africa's government and its state companies have lifted debt issuance this year to help fund a massive infrastructure build programme, with R787bn estimated to be spent over the next three years.
Eskom, struggling to meet fast growing demand for electricity in Africa's biggest economy with dwindling capacity, plans to spend R343bn over five years to refurbish old facilities and build new plants.
The company's next bond auction would be on May 6.
The treasury said in the budget it would offer Eskom loan guarantees of R175.97bn to help it raise funding in the current tough market conditions.
A global downturn and credit squeeze, as well as pressure on ratings, have made it more difficult and expensive to fund the planned capital expenditure.
Transnet is to spend R80bn to upgrade the country's ports, and rail and pipeline networks, while Sanral has started a major renovation of roads, particularly highways in big urban centres.
Transnet's next auction was scheduled for May 4 and Sanral for May 13.
The Treasury also said the Airports Company of South Africa would issue R3.6bn of bonds in 2009/10, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa R6.0bn.
Total issuance for the government and the utilities was R113.25bn.
- Reuters